Circling the Promises of God

Photo courtesy of andyjbrown.wordpress.com

Can I share with you something I have recently started doing that has been a TOTAL GAME-CHANGER as it relates to praying for my children?

Let me back up a bit...

I recently read this little book by Mark Batterson--(at $2.69 with free shipping it is a BARGAIN!!)

While it is a very short book, it really packs a punch!  In it, Mark tells of a father who decided to pray through the Bible with each of his children in mind, making notes and prayers in the margins.  He planned to give them to each of his children when they left home one day.  

Well, I thought this was such an amazing idea--I mean, imagine what God could do as you work your way through the Scriptures, praying the promises of God straight from His Word, covering each of your children?  And then, years later, for them to be encouraged by the Scriptures you underlined, the notes you made to them, and the prayers you lifted to the Lord on their behalf?

Immediately, I knew which Bibles I wanted to purchase for each of my children--the same Bible I personally use for daily study.  It is the ESV Journaling Bible--I love the smaller size, the wide 2-inch lined margins on the outside of each page, and its readability.  Fortunately, they are now half the price I paid for mine at this site--check it out if you are interested!

I bought a brown, black, and red Bible for each of the kids (with free shipping!) and have started to pour through their pages, underlining promises I have been praying for each of them for the past few years, but now they are all in one place!  I am circling promises about them being mighty oaks of righteousness (Isaiah 61:3), having "4th soil" hearts (Matt 13), hearing and responding to the call of God (Samuel 3), and renewing their minds with God's truth (Phil 4:8).  I am underlining their life verses, jotting quick prayers for them in the margins, and seeing God's plan and purposes for each of them unfold page by page.

In the girls' Bibles, I will circle the truths about the Proverbs 31 woman, having true beauty on the inside (1 Peter 3:3-4), and submitting to their husbands one day (Eph 5:22).

In my son's Bible, I will underline truths about servant leadership (John 13), loving his wife one day as Christ loved the Church (Eph 5:25), and staking claim for his future family that they will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).

And as I encounter daily challenges, such as when my littlest one rages through her temper tantrums, I will pray that Christ's peace would rule in her heart (Col 3:15).  Or when my son refuses to follow instructions in our homeschool class, I will pray that he would be willing to obey his parents (Col 3:20) and those placed in authority over him.

So, would you join me, dear one?  Would you set aside a Bible for each of your children, and be faithful to pray through it with them in mind?  I trust that this will be a total "game-changer" in your prayer life, as it has been in mine!  And let us give God ALL the glory as we pray and watch what only HE can do in the lives of our children (Eph 3:20)!